


I is for Isabela the Matchmaker

by OtakuElf



Series: YADAA (Yet Another Dragon Age Alphabet) [9]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: F/M, Friend Fiction, M/M, Multi, Siren's Call 2
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-29
Updated: 2014-12-29
Packaged: 2018-03-04 06:34:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2955941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OtakuElf/pseuds/OtakuElf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Isabela plays friend fiction with real lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I is for Isabela the Matchmaker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Lunamoth116 for beta-reading!

Creaking timbers, the ship alive around them, the rush of the sea water lapping against the wood. Isabela lay in her bunk alone, indulging in a bit of contemplation. 

Timing: it is the essence of stealth. She was a thief. That was admitted. She was a pirate. She was dedicated to her own pleasure. Amoral. Absolutely. 

Which was why she had stuffed her ship, her beautiful _Siren’s Call II_ , to the gills with people. It had been her pleasure to do so. Behind them, Kirkwall burned. Ahead? The world was calling. It was entirely possible that soon Thedas would be burning too. 

Stretching out, Isabela considered the space she’d given up for Fenris and Anders. Enjoyable as including Anders in their sex was, the pirate rather thought it was time to get Anders what he so desperately desired. The years with Justice had changed the mage. Back when she had known him at The Pearl in Denerim, the cute blond had been adventurous and willing, and hadn’t wanted to settle down. 

Not that Anders would have been allowed to settle down and have a family. Or Bethany. Though Isabela guessed that Bethany would have had more of a chance if she and Leandra and Hawke had never come to Kirkwall. Of course, Bethany had turned herself in to the Circle. Isabela knew she’d had a crush on that Knight-Captain, Cullen. Mmmm. Naive and handsome and big. And so very much not here right now to provide Bethany with the loving she so obviously deserved.

Bethany deserved good sex, and what better sex could Isabela provide than getting Bethany into bed with Anders?

Life aboard ship settled in fairly quickly. Bethany enjoyed the change of pace from the Gallows, as much as she had loved the structure of her life there. That enjoyment was a good thing, as travel by sailing vessel took weeks to get anywhere.

The waves whipped past the wooden hull of the _Siren’s Call II_ , and the small dark slipperiness of the harbor dolphins racing the ship. They’d kept pace with her since Kirkwall. Bethany was uncertain whether or not this was the same group of dolphins that had been with them, actually. Merrill was usually to be seen hanging over a railing chirping at them, but was nowhere in sight right now. Bethany looked up, then up and up to the small bowl of wood that served as a nest for the lookout, stationed at the top of the main mast. A small dark head could be seen peeking over the rim. It occurred to the female mage that her brother would never be able to climb up to Merrill’s perch. It was not that he lacked the dexterity. He was just so very much larger than Merrill.

Each day Bethany assisted in the galley. As a kitchen, it was homey and familiar. She had offered to help Anders in his nook in the bowels of the ship. Anders had very logically pointed out that they would not both fit, that he was not even certain a patient could be shoehorned in there. The healer did not spend much time down there in the tiny dark room.

The blond mage held “surgery” hours every sunny day on the deck. This meant that every splinter or bruise was brought to his attention. Quite a few of the sailors had crushes on the mage, who joked and teased with everyone (Bethany was not mindful of the equally large number of sailors who suffered unrequited thoughts about her as well). Anders’s generally sunny disposition made him more popular than Fenris, who did not make friends easily. On stormy days any medical needs were taken care of in the hold, of course. In the enclosed space it smelled of bilge water, human effluvia, tarred wood, the cargo of sheep’s wool in bundles, and a mélange of other bits and pieces. Much like Darktown. Or so Bethany had teased Anders.

Bethany had only a sliver of awareness of the male interest in her own person as well, though she preened at what she did see, unused to being allowed the attention. She was not particularly interested in the sailors, though, and Isabela had warned them all about fraternization. Bethany gave a small huff of distaste, of irritation at that. Isabela could speak, as the Rivaini was bedding both Fenris and Anders. Which bedding Bethany could hear, even through the First Mate - Casavir’s - cabin and the mess both lying between the young mage’s cabin and Isabela’s. The pretty mage had heard enough of the Rivaini Captain’s very vocal responses: “Oh, yes! Oh, Anders, more!” and “Scream for me, Anders! Don’t stop, let me hear you!” as well as Anders crying out in orgasm or shouting, “Oh, Maker, Fenris! Don’t stop!” 

Fenris was less audible, although his deep groans could be heard from time to time. Bethany was used to the frustration of being surrounded by family at all times and places, or a part of the frustrated sexuality of the Kirkwall Circle in the Gallows. Family didn’t tend to make loud noises while having sex. Neither did those in the Circle, which Bethany supposed was why Isabela was so insistent on the older Grey Warden mage sounding out. Listening to the trio in the Captain’s cabin enjoying sexual acrobatics just fed Bethany’s frustration more and more.

Speaking of family, there were also the noises emitted from the cabin across the passageway. Not what she was used to hearing from her brother, Maker, no! At least Isabela had not put Bethany in the cabin next to Garrett and his sweetheart. Or given Merrill and Bethany a cabin to share - though, would that have been worse? There was the Captain’s cabin which reached across the bow of the ship. Coming from her cabin, to the left was the mess, then the first mate’s cabin - Casavir did seem very nice - then Bethany’s. To the right was Gareth’s and Merrill’s cabin, then two empty rooms that would have been Sebastian’s and Varric’s quarters, and the Hendyrs’. 

Merrill and her brother had a tendency to be as loud as Isabela. Those sounds were, however, less stimulating for the mage. Also, the dog would vocalize along with Merrill’s high-pitched moans. That was a trifle disturbing.

Fenris interested Bethany not at all. He was cold to all but Isabela, or so it seemed to Bethany, who could not understand why Anders allowed himself to be shared between the pair. Isabela had a habit of teasing Bethany, but there was no sexual spark, no real interest. Which left Anders as the only available male. The tall, blond mage was claimed, though, by Isabela, and Bethany had seen Fenris and the mage with their tongues down each others’ throats and hands in exciting places when a door banged open from rough seas.

Now Bethany examined the much older man as he spoke with the crew on deck in the sunlight. The sea wind blew his hair, whipping the straying strands behind and out away from his face. His hair was blond and bright in the sun. Smile lines had deepened this past week, and that engaging grin charmed all of the men, who seemed not to be afraid of the mages on board this ship. Bethany had even been asked to heat a pot of tar for repairs. How freeing to work magic in the open wind with people looking on.

In fact, it seemed to be a point of pride to the spirit healer that he used his magic casually and openly in front of the crew. 

Bethany was not nearly so brave. Aside from the tar pot, she practiced, but tended to do it up and away from the main deck, hidden from the men who crewed the vessel. Merrill did her practicing from the crow’s nest up atop the main mast. Sometimes her spells made the rigging glow green. That had frightened some of the more superstitious crew until Merrill came down and showed them all how she did it, that there was no blood magic involved. Merrill could make vines and thorns grow out of the dead wood of the ship. The Dalish mage had explained what it was she was practicing. “It’s just like when you practice your firing drills,” she had said oh-so-sweetly. “I need to be able to defend the ship in a battle, even if the seas are not what I am used to. And of course,” she added, smiling her innocent elven smile, “none of us can use fire on a wooden vessel!”

‘Bela must have chosen her crew right, for none of them grumbled or accused any of them of being blood mages or enthralling the crew. Casavir had been Isabela’s first mate for years, and practically worshipped the woman. The rest of the men followed suit.

Bethany leaned over to watch what Anders was doing. He was using a needle, a sharp one, that he had burned with a bit of fire before using it to pry a splinter of tarred wood from the side of the cabin boy’s formerly dirty foot. “Now, it will heal if you take care of it. Keep the wound clean, use the water that the cook keeps boiled for washing, and if it gets infected come back and see me.”

“Why didn’t you just heal it out?” she asked after the boy had gone about his business.

“Want them to learn how to take care of these things for themselves. They won’t always have a mage around to fix little things.” Anders gave her a smile as he cleaned the needle with a burst of flame and put his tools away.

Bethany sat in the boy’s place and rolled her head back to enjoy the sunshine on her face and neck. Anders took a moment and allowed his eyes to touch her relaxed face, closed eyes, to travel down along the belted shirt the girl wore now instead of robes, and the really rather tight breeches that ended mid-calf above her bare feet. It was a miracle that they didn’t all constantly have the tarred splinters that the crew caught in all parts of their bodies. The male mage used the thought of needle surgery on the oldest crewmember’s bum to distract him from the pretty picture presented by his friend’s little sister.

Still wearing the undershirt - bleaching now from the sun and being washed in seawater - over plain trousers tucked into his belted boots, Anders reasoned that they looked not so much like mages, as like a pair of children escaped from school. School. A very good idea. “We should call Merrill down and have her give us a lesson on force magic. Don’t you think?” His tenor was light and unconcerned about the warm thoughts he’d been trying not to have.

“Mmmm.” Even the hum was enticing. _Maker, Anders, calm yourself down._ He’d had more sex in the past two weeks than he’d had in over a decade, and he was panting after this child. More than a child. The baby sister of one of his best friends. A girl he was teaching, responsible for, who was out of his reach in any number of ways. She was a free mage, and had grown up as such. Bethany deserved so very much more than Anders could ever give her.

Unhelpful that just the day before Isabela had given Anders point blank carte blanche to pursue any other lovers he found on board the _Siren’s Call II_. Not that he was interested in any of her crew. He knew everyone. Of course he did. It was a skill. Hawke’s people were all part of the ship’s crew now, for as long as they were on board the vessel. They all had to sit watch as well, and Anders was regularly scheduled with Bethany Hawke. That had been nice, of course. They always had something to discuss; a good thing, for watch was an incredibly boring task. So long as they kept an eye out for odd movement on the waves, and storms in the distance, there was time for talk. Anders preferred Bethany’s company to anyone else on the ship. Hawke kept speaking of Merrill. Merrill kept trying to convince Anders that she knew more than he did about the First Children. Fenris didn’t speak much at all. Isabela could tell stories, of course, but was not really scheduled for watch.

No, Bethany was Anders’s preferred companion for being on watch. She tended to show up when he was healing, too. It wasn’t that the others avoided him, but as mages they shared an interest in the spell work. Obviously Bethany was looking for any tutoring she could receive. A young, beautiful girl like Bethany Hawke would not be interested in an old, scarred, tainted, tired old man like Anders. None of the other men on board were right for her either. When they reached land it would be wise to find someone who would care for her. Someone right.


End file.
